Udny Station to Tillycorthie

Grey Granite and Rufus walked this section of the Line on a very hot day in June 2011.

The village of Udny Station owes its existence entirely to the Formartine and Buchan railway and grew rapidly following the opening of the railway station in 1861 so that by 1894 the hamlet surrounding the station  had become a focus for trade in the area. Agricultural implements and goods ranging from day old chicks and seed potatoes to implement parts and the draff from Speyside distilleries (used as animal feed) were brought into, and exported from, the area by train. Udny was the nearest station to Haddo House so occasionally performers for the Haddo House concerts brought a touch of glamour. At its most prosperous period the village boasted a hotel, Bibby's store, post office, telephone exchange, general merchants, bank, garage and doctor.

The Station Hotel,  this was originally owned by the railway company but eventually was sold off. 

The village had the distinction of being the first in the NE to be lit by electricity, this was thanks  to James Rollo Duncan of nearby Tillycorthie House who set up Duncan Electricity Company to provide the village with power. Duncan was born in New Leeds on 20th July 1859 and brought up by his maternal aunt who had a sweet shop there. In 1882 Duncan emigrated to Bolivia where he made his fortune in the tin and silver mines, becoming a partner in the mining firm Penny and Duncan, Bolivia. He returned  to Scotland and in 1899 bought  Tillycorthie Estate  south of Udny Station.  Houses in Woodside Terrace and Duncan Terrace, were built for his estate workers using granite brought by rail from quarries at Stirling Hill (Boddam).  Duncan became a major benefactor to the community. In 1915 Duncan  built the village hall and gifted it to the community, this is now a grain store having been replaced in the 1980s by a new community centre built by the villagers.  

Tillycorthie House was built by Duncan in 1911. This extraordinary building, one of the earliest in Scotland  to be constructed from concrete, is in a vaguely Spanish style and is thought to have been largely designed by Duncan himself. The estate grounds included an artificial lake, constructed from railway sleepers, a workshop with a rooftop skating rink and two baronial lodges. The house had a glass covered courtyard, large enough to allow the owner to turn his car in it and to accommodate a large granite fountain originally from the New Market in Aberdeen. By the late 1960s  Tillycorthie was used as an agricultural store but has since been restored.

The station platform looking south, this is the up (Aberdeen bound) platform

The Station Agent  at Udny was also responsible for the adjacent Newmachar and Logierieve Stations. From the 1930s the station agent lived at Newmachar although he remained based at Udny. When it first opened in July 1861 Udny had a single platform, on the 'down' side, where the original station  buildings were situated, and  a passing loop. The 'up' platform  was a later addition. A footbridge joined the  two platforms until sometime between the two world wars when it was removed and passengers had to cross from one side of the station to the other by by  a level crossing at the south end of the station, unnervingly passing in front of the waiting up train. There was also a goods yard with sidings, these are now lost under new housing and  a recreation ground.

Level crossing gates near Tillycorthie. The feathery plant in the lower picture is sweet cicely

During World War 2  a quantity of High Explosive bombs was dropped in a line stretching from a clump of trees near Tillycorthie House, across the  railway towards Corthymiur Farm. Of the 15 HE bombs one failed to explode. 20 incendiary bombs were also dropped around the farm setting fire to a grain store. 

A little to the west of Udny Station, towards Cultercullen, on the former site of  a wooden WW 2 Royal Observation Corps Observation hut is  a series of air vents, the remains of a later underground ROC station, in use   from 1959 to 2001 during the Cold War.